The Same, But Different

Okay, so my fantabulous bagel melt for lunch wasn’t quite enough food to keep me going through a 4 hour lecture, and the commute home from school (and really, I knew that would be the case). Good thing I’d packed up a mighty fine snack for the afternoon.

Yogurt & granola mess, featuring quince! Remember those beauties I bought earlier this week? Well, I cooked them up with some water and agave nectar into a sort of compote/paste/jam thing.

They turn a very pretty rose colour, and keep that lovely floral aroma. I decide they would make a good yogurt topping along with some pomegranate arils.

I really like the quince, but man, they are a pain to work with. They are SO HARD to cut and core, and they oxidize (turn brown) so fast! Plus they take quite awhile to cook. So while I’m not against them, I’d have to be in the mood for some hard work if I were to buy them again.

Class today was…trying. I was not impressed with my group. We have a big paper that’s due at the end of the term, which we only get to start on now (not our choice, it’s how the course is). It involves us going into some schools to interview them about their food system there. So we only have 2 weeks left of classes, which means these visits need to happen ASAP. And not everyone in our group has even contacted their schools yet to go in there. Not to mention some of my group members haven’t read the outline for the paper, and had no input into our group discussions. It’s like pulling teeth, I tell you! ARGH. I was so close to walking out of there. I would much rather write this paper on my own, because I bet I could bust it out in a weekend, and get a decent mark. Alas, that is not an option. Le sigh.

Getting home from school took FOREVER tonight as well. And it was pouring rain, so my feet ended up soaked through my runners This, coupled with my trying class, did not make for a happy camper

What did make for a happy camper was the garlic bread I found when I got home. If there is one thing I could probably gorge myself on, it would be garlic bread. Is that weird?

Obviously, I had some with dinner.

As well as leftover shepherd’s pie, ketchup included.

And some salad leftover from my parents’ dinner earlier that I only half ate – it wasn’t doing it for me.

You know I totally went back for seconds on that garlic bread though

That plate looks like a crap ton of food, but it’s actually not a proper sized dinner plate, so it’s not as much as you think. I’m just saying.

My mom must have known I’d had a crappy day, and that my tootsies were soaked from the rain, because she said we’re going down to the mall this weekend in search of good boots – early Christmas present. Hurray!

I chillaxed on the couch, watched some Survivor and CSI, and drank some tea – Silk Road Lychee Fruit Double Happiness Tea.

I’m going to be sad when all my Silk Road teas are gone. I guess that just means I’ll need to head on over to Victoria for a visit!

Time to get some shut eye. Only one more day of early mornings this week, and I’m determined to not be late. Night!

S’more Sandwiches

I need to make this quick, as it’s way past my bed time and I’m fading fast. Good excuse for staying up late though – I was doing up an application for a paying job that I really hope I get! Fingers crossed people.

Snack consumed while meeting with my group before class, to go over our presentation.

Yogurt, pomegranate arils, frozen blueberries, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola. Nom nom.

Our presentation went well, and it’s our last one that we have to do on assigned readings. Yay! We do still have one more presentation at the end of the semester, but it will be on our Food Security paper, so it’s a little different. Can you believe there are only 2 1/2 weeks left of classes? Insane!

After class, I chowed down on this Kashi Cherry Dark Chocolate granola bar while I rode the bus home.

I think I’ve had these before, and they are just meh. Needs more cherries. Or chocolate. Or something!

I arrived home to find a classic soup and sandwich combo for dinner. Grilled cheese – please note the white fluffy bread, and plastic cheese usage.

And creamy tomato soup a la Campbell’s.

Hello delicious.

So delicious in fact…I went back and made another half sandwich. I know! Who am I? In my defence, there technically wasn’t a full sandwich there. For some reason, mom cut them all into thirds when my family had dinner, and someone had 1/3 of this sandwich. So really, I was short changed to begin with.

Later on in the evening, I sipped on some Stash Coconut Mango Oolong tea.

And that, my friends, is a wrap! Night!

Pineapple Express

Too bad I didn’t have any pineapple to eat!

I don’t know if anyone else has heard this weather term – I think it’s a west coast thing. But this monsoon we’re having is what we like to call a Pineapple Express. Warm, moist air comes up the coast, usually from Hawaii, resulting in warmer than normal temperatures, and torrential downpour. I tried to get some photos of just how wet it is out there, but none of them do it justice

Ah, the wet west coast. I know some people find all the grey skies and rain depressing, but I grew up here. I find the rain so soothing. Plus it’s a good excuse to stay indoors and eat things like soup and stew

Fortunately, I managed to not drown while outside today, so I’m able to bring you my day’s worth of eats. I know you are excited.

On the unfortunate front, I had another middle of the night (3:30 am) random wake up, resulting in a sleepy Marianne who was running behind, trying to get out the door. You know what that means.

Good ol’ cereal for breakfast. I went with Kashi Honey Almond Flax cereal with a smattering of pomegranate arils.

A glass of juice – cranberry.

All on my mom’s Christmas Kitty quilted tablecloth.

I also had to pack a bit of a lunch – my Mondays have officially gotten busier, so no time to eat at home.

There was some leftover apricot bbq chicken from dinner last night, so I made myself a sandwich on Silver Hills bread, with chicken, avocado, and Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus.

Class was class, then I was off to my volunteer shift at Sprouts. Per usual Monday tradition, I nabbed a tasty baked good. And boy, did I pick a good one today!

This is a Qunioa Blondie. It is completely gluten free, which made many of our customers happy, as often we don’t have any gluten free baked goods. It had all sorts of good stuff in it like honey, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and raisins.

Let me tell you, this was insanely delicious. To all my fellow UBC’ers – get to Sprouts and buy one. They are moist, flavourful, and decadent. I’m tempted to go back and pay retail for one tomorrow!

I also purchased a new fruit to try out while I was there.

Any clue what these are?

 

Guesses?

 

Come on….you know you want to.

 

They are quince!

And no, it’s not moldy. They have this weird furry coating on them, but it just brushes off. They have the most fragrant smell. A great addition to your fruit bowl, if only for the smell! I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to do with them. My understanding is they really need to be cooked to be enjoyed, so perhaps I’ll make a little quince paste/jelly? Suggestions?

After I gobbled up that blondie, and got changed, I was out the door on my way to my newest volunteer position (do you think I have enough of those yet?) – working at the Diabetic Clinic at my local hospital. It wasn’t overly thrilling, but I didn’t expect them to give me any amazing projects on my first shift. I spent alot of time stuffing envelopes to go out to patients to attend workshops, putting together new files, and stamping envelopes. They are checking into some confidentiality issues, and hopefully I’ll get to do some more work with actual patient files (hello, experience to help out in clinical settings!)

I found my way home, and decided I was done with going outside in this rain and wind. Therefore, I passed on going to cardio kickboxing with my sister (at least the gym is open again). Instead I had my ass kicked by Jillian and her No More Trouble Zones. I even had to open the window to let in some fresh, cool air since I was sweating up a storm.

A shower later, and it was dinner time. Mom cooked up some hot Italian sausages.

Let’s be honest – there is no way to photograph a sausage without it looking a little phallic.

There was also roasted red potatoes, which I enjoyed with some sweet chili sauce.

And steamed broccoli & cauliflower, kicked up a notch with some parmesan.

There was alot of spicy going on in this meal.

I did a little prepping for my presentation tomorrow (I’m so over these presentations), watched a little TV (Battle Of The Blades! The best of both my favourite ice sports!), and played with the cats. Then it was time to snack.

Another score from Sprouts! This yogurt had just reached its expiry date, so we couldn’t sell it, but since it had never been opened, there was no point in throwing it out. They offered it to me, and of course I said yes. I’ve never tried this brand – Avalon Organic Yogurt.

This one is a little different from most yogurts out there, because it is fortified with Vitamin D. Usually only fluid milk gets fortified, not milk products. Plus they have added inulin, a prebiotic to work in conjunction with the probiotics in the yogurt.

 

It has 2% milk fat, hence the trace amounts of trans fats (naturally occurring, not the same as the ones from hydrogenated oils). What you can’t quite see in the picture is the Vitamin D amount – 35% of your daily value. Awesome for a yogurt!

So what did I do with my yogurt? Made a yogurt mess!

I topped my yogurt with peanut butter, apricot jam, Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola, and some shredded coconut.

And because it was rainy and cold, I ended up with a giant mug of Ecuadorian hot chocolate. I added a splash of coconut extract for fun.

If you got through that marathon post, props to you! If you aren’t completely spent, head on over to Miss Gliding Calm’s blog to check out Earrings of the Blogworld  Yours truly is modelling her ear bling for all to see. Night!

Commuter Chaos

Well, getting to school this morning sure turned into an adventure!

I started my morning off like any other Thursday morning, with a bowl of oatmeal.

• 1/2 cup oats, almond milk, water
• frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness
• splash of vanilla
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• Artisana Coconut Butter
• raw cacao nibs

Gratuitous coconut butter shot!

With a glass of Oasis Black Currant Elderberry juice.

I packed my lunch, got presentable, and hitched a ride to the train with my sister per usual. As I was going up the escalator, there was a transit person who was talking to someone on his radio, and I overheard something about a fire and buses being diverted, but wasn’t sure where it was, so I got on the train, and headed to the usual station to catch the bus out to UBC.

When I get to the station, the line ups waiting for the UBC bus are massive! We stand there for a good 10 min, and no buses come. The express bus to UBC comes at least every 5 min, if not more, during rush hour, so that was weird. I call home to see if mom has heard anything on the news, and apparently there is a huge fire on the street that the bus takes out to the school, the road is closed, power is out, yadda, yadda. Great. So I hop back on the train, head into downtown, and catch another bus out to the school. Amazingly, I made it to class on time!

A psychology lecture later, and I was on my break. Unfortunately, I had to spend the majority of it meeting up with my group to work on our third presentation for last week, so I had no time to post I did snag some food photos outside in the sunshine though before said meeting

I brought along some leftover mac & cheese, making sure to get plenty of the cheesy crust.

Some carrot and cucumber slices, plus a few medjool dates stuffed with peanut butter. I didn’t want to dirty another container, so I put them all together.

Too bad the peanut butter escaped from the medjools!

I also had a sub par gala apple that I saved for an afternoon snack. I think it was a bit old

Lunchity lunch.

I totally meant to bring some hummus with me for those veggies, but I forgot. Since all that pb escaped the medjools, I used that to dip some of my carrots in. Mmmm, I forgot how good carrot + pb tastes.

Our 4 hour afternoon class was shortened to 3 hours, since 80% of the class had a chem midterm right afterwards. Works for me, I get to go home early. Early enough that I was able to sit down and eat dinner with the family even.

Dinner featured a roasted pork tenderloin, with a little mango chutney for dipping.

Roasted acorn squash, with the standard squash topping in my family – cheddar cheese.

And a mish mash of steamed veggies. Mom was cleaning out all the little bits in the fridge, so there was broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and mushrooms.

Such a nice dinner to come home to.

I had big plans to do some yoga this evening, but I was feeling too wiped out for some reason. So I just relaxed in front of the tv with Sienna. I also enjoyed a little snack.

Plain, non-fat yogurt, peanut butter, grape jelly, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola. Hit the spot!

2 things on the exciting news front:

• I officially start volunteering at my local hospital on Monday in the Diabetes Clinic.
• I also got my schedule for my volunteer shifts at the Winter Olympics. I’m working at the hockey arena, and guess what? I’m on shift for the Men’s Gold Medal Hockey Game!! WOO! Here’s hoping I’ll be working somewhere where I’ll be able to see a bit. So exciting!

Time to hit the sack – one more day to get through this week. Night!

Mission Accomplished

I have finally finished all of my midterms for this semester. Hurray! And I have to say, I think this one was the most intense. Even though we had all the questions before hand, the 2 hours we were given to write seemed so rushed. Plus, as my luck would have it, the only question I didn’t want on the exam was on there. Doh! I think I did okay though – guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

It was so nice to have a leisurely wake up this morning. I was up at 8:30, showered, then made a nice breakfast.

Banana fig oats:

• 1/2 cup oats, milk, water
• 1 small banana, thinly sliced
• 2 dried figs, chopped
• splash of vanilla
• 1tbsp flax seed
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• Artisana Cacao Bliss

With a glass of Oasis Black Current Elderberry juice.

I spent the morning making sure I had all the notes written down to answer the possible midterm questions, so I could review the on transit on my way to school. I also packed a bit of a lunch to tide me over until I got home.

I discovered a lonely avocado in the fridge, and brought back an old favourite – the hummus, cheddar, and avocado sandwich on Silver Hills “The Big 16” bread.

I also grabbed the cookie I picked up at Sprouts yesterday. My mom had stolen a little taste of it!

After the exam, I was freezing, so I stopped into Starbucks and grabbed a grande non-fat half-sweet green tea latte.

Turns out I didn’t really need all that warming up. When I got on the bus, the driver had the heat CRANKED. Seriously, it was so hot. I took my jacket off, and my sweater, and still had a sweaty back (TMI?) And she kept the heat on the entire bus ride (35 – 40 min) to the train station. Ugh. And then of course, you get off the bus into the cold air, and it’s even more freezing that it should be

We went with something simple tonight, that I haven’t had for awhile – perogies!

Topped with low-fat sour cream, and little drizzle of melted buttah. Mmmm. I also scavenged some greenery to have alongside mine, in the form of leftover steamed broccoli & cauliflower.

A little bland looking, but tasted good.

I then watched the car wreck that was the Canucks game (lost 6 – 1, brutal), and decided to head out to the gym. I only did some medium intensity cardio on the elliptical and bike, because let me tell you – my quads, hams, and butt are S-O-R-E from yesterday’s workout with Jillian. I’ve been hobbling around all day like an old lady. Strangely, my abs are just a normal sore, and same with my arms.

Once home, I had a hankerin’ for some yogurt.

I topped it with a little peanut butter, homemade grape jelly, and Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola. Check out that river of pb!

Time to wrap this up – I hear some kitties hissing at each other, and I think it needs some attending to. Night!

An Apple A Day

Keeps the doctor away. Good thing I had one for a snack this afternoon

I never ended up going to Starbucks. My practical side thought I would be better off saving the money. Instead, I had this Cocoa Jocolat bar during class. They are alright. I think the Larabars are better.

Class was long, per usual. We got to have an afternoon discussion on GMO’s which was quite interesting. I really wish there was some sort of legislation here in Canada (and the US for that matter), that companies had to identify foods that contain them. Whether you are against them or not, it’s not fair for consumers to not know what’s in their food. They should be allowed to make their own informed decisions, and they need that labelling to know.

Anyways…I missed the hockey game, since it was an early one. I think I got home just as it ended. Boo. At least there was dinner waiting for me.

Mom made split pea soup with the hambone from earlier this week. I think there’s also some barley in there

I also scored the last biscuit, and topped it with a little cheddar.

Hearty homemade soup sure hit the spot on a cold, windy night like tonight.

I spent some time perusing our midterm exam questions – we have 6 essay questions posted, but only 4 will be on our test on Tuesday. They seem pretty straight forward. I’ll have to jot down notes for each of them this weekend, and I should be set for the test!

I also took some time out to get a little activity in – some jumping jacks, ab work, and 15 min yoga. Nothing hard core, but it got the muscles moving. I can’t really ask for much more on my long school days.

I had a total craving for rhubarb all day today, so after my workout, I heated some up in the microwave, mixed in a wee bit of brown sugar, and topped some yogurt with it. I added a little granola for the crunch factor.

I think rhubarb is highly underrated. I think there should be more rhubarb products out there. Anyone else with me?

But now, it’s time to get cozy under the covers. 5:30 will be here before you know it! Night

Ready For The Weekend

Oh, how much I have looked forward to Friday. Not only is it the start to the weekend, but I only have an hour of class that I need to stay on campus for. As nice a campus as UBC is, I definitely enjoy it when I get to spend the majority of my day at home in my pajamas.

As seems to be the trend with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday breakfasts, I had a bowl of cereal.

Nature’s Path Pumpkin Raisin Crunch in unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Nothing fancy, but totally delicious. I really like almond milk with cereal.

With a glass of cranberry peach juice. Can’t say I’ll miss this juice when it’s gone.

It’s all about the uber-quick breakfast.

*car, train, bus, class, bus, train, car*

Then I was home! And not completely drowned from the torrential downpour we’ve had going on out there all day. I worked on the computer for awhile, then figured I should find some lunch.

There was leftover stirfry in the fridge, that was really past it’s prime, but I hate throwing out food. I wasn’t really even in the mood for it either, which is why I only ate maybe 3/4 of the bowl?

Which meant I had room for a little Hallowe’en candy

Then I got myself all purdied up because I had an interview! No, not for a paying job (which I still need). But to volunteer at my local hospital. The woman was really nice, and actually said she would try and get me in with the dietitians there, instead of the jobs they were actually interviewing for. Sweet! I have orientation at the beginning of November.

I came home, got back in my pajamas (what, it’s rainy and gross out – I think pj’s are totally warranted). Since my lunch was small, and I was planning on a late dinner out, I had a snack, featuring this lovely.

Pomegranate season baby!

A bowl of plain, non-fat yogurt with frozen blueberries, pomegranate seeds, and a drizzle of creamed Saskatoon berry honey.

And a couple of sourdough rye Wasa crackers with peanut butter.

Of course, shortly thereafter, I got a phone call saying dinner plans had been pushed up by an hour. Which is too bad too, because I’m going for my favourite food with my cousin – sushi! There’s always room for sushi though, right?

Time to get ready to head out (aka – change out of pajamas). Have a great Friday night everyone!

Crunch Time

So…I should be studying biochemistry. But here I am, putting together a post. I’ll admit it, I’m the ultimate procrastinator. I’m comfortable enough with myself to embrace it. Sure, if I’d just learn to not procrastinate, maybe life would be easier, but who doesn’t love forgoing sleep the night before a test to cram as much information in possible, only to wake up sleeping on your textbook?

Biochemistry can wait. Let’s check out some food

Normally I don’t take the time for a hot breakfast on my early mornings to save time, but since I had some leftover millet in the fridge from yesterday, I thought why not turn that into a hot breakfast?

I took some cooked millet, milk, flax seed, vanilla, and frozen berries (raspberries & blueberries) and heated them in the microwave. Then I topped it all with a little honey and Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter.

With a glass of Happy Planet Mango Peach Party of course.

What a pretty bowl of breakfast.

I’m not 100% sure how I feel about the millet for breakfast. I think it would have been better if I heated it longer with the milk, so it came together more. I guess I’ll just have to try again!

We had a review session in my biochem lecture this morning, then I was off to volunteer at Agora. Again, I was free to bake, so I whipped up a batch of Raspberry Oat Bars. Too bad I left before they were out of the oven. I never get to try what I bake there. Hmph!

I also picked up some new (to me) cereal to try out while I was at school.

At Sprouts, we also have a bulk-buying club, where we can get all sorts of grocery items from our store suppliers for wholesale cost. Of course, you have to order a whole case of the product you want, so often people go together and share. I received an email this week saying that someone had this Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise cereal coming in, and wanted to sell a few bags. It was a good price, so I snapped one up. Wanna bet this will find it’s way into my breakfast tomorrow?

Once I got home, I set out making lunch.

A warm, comforting bowl of Coconut Curried Squash, Carrot, and Sweet Potato Soup, topped with a dollop of sour cream and shredded coconut.

And a toasted sandwich – Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus, avocado, cheddar cheese, and cucumber on Silver Hills Squirrelly Bread.

It’s so much better when you get to enjoy lunch at home.

I spent the afternoon working on random school assignments, emailing, phoning, and basically gettin’ ‘er done. Everything except that important biochemistry studying. Oops! I did find a moment to try out one of the muffins my mom baked last night.

They are a pumpkin raisin muffin. Sorry, I’m not really sure what’s in there, or even what recipe she used. And mom wasn’t home when I dug in, so I couldn’t ask. I heated mine up, and dabbed on a little buttah.

Yum! Nice, light pumpkin flavour. Not too sweet. A good snacking muffin.

Before I knew it, my sister was home from work, and we caught up on SYTYCD Canada that we PVR’d last night so we could watch Hell’s Kitchen. Then it was dinner time.

Mom made up a big green salad with romaine lettuce, cucumber, radishes, and green onion. I dressed mine with Brianna’s Honey Mustard Dressing and pine nuts.

There was roast chicken, and carrot sticks (with dill dip). I totally ate like, 3X the carrots pictured there. I love carrots & dip

And some sad Stove Top stuffing. I’m not even sure why we have this, but mom decided to cook it up. It was…well, you all know what Stove Top is like, I’m sure.

Another bright & cheery meal.

I then spent the rest of the evening in front of the tv. What can I say, Wednesdays are good tv nights! I know, I know. I should have put my nose to the grind and memorized those amino acids, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it! Of course, I was able to peel myself off the couch for a snack.

Yogurt mess!

• yogurt
• pumpkin
• cinnamon
• vanilla
• peanut butter
• creamed berry honey
• granola

Phew! Now that I’ve got all that out there, I really am signing off to get acquainted with some protein structures. And sadly, I won’t be able to post tomorrow, as I will be out at a dairy farm all day, then studying for real all evenings. We’ll get caught up on Friday. Wish me luck on my first midterm – I’m probably going to need it!

Pitiful Pizza

Oh boys & girls, let me tell you – tonight’s dinner was not good. It was take out night again, and my family decided to try something new. It was an epic fail.

But before we get into that, let’s back track a few hours. I spent most of my day working on random things related to school, ran some errands, and caught up on more PVR’d shows. I stopped for a snack in the early afternoon.

A pumpkin protein yogurt bowl. It’s been far too long!

I combined some non-fat organic yogurt, pumpkin puree, a wee bit of vanilla whey protein powder, and some cinnamon. Then I topped it with Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter, Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola, and some dried cranberries.

It was muy bueno

As for dinner? Yeah, not so much.

My dad was determined to try out Papa John’s Pizza, so we ordered from there tonight (take out Friday and all). The pizza I chose was the Green Garden Delight – mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, onion, olives, spinach alfredo sauce. I subbed out the olives for pineapple. It looks…okay.

Too bad it had no flavour. Seriously, this was the blandest pizza I’ve ever eaten. My parents both felt the same way with the other pizza we ordered as well, so it wasn’t just a poor pizza choice on my part. It was also very unsatisfying. I ate my two slices, and was still hungry, so I went back for a third, only to fill the void. Papa John’s? You get two thumbs down If I had any more thumbs, you’d get more down. Pizza Hut has you beat on all pizza accounts.

Instead of sulking over dinner all night, I wandered on down to the gym to get my sweat on. Some elliptical & stair climber time later, and I was back home in my pajamas. Which didn’t last long, because I decided to soak in the hot tub for awhile. The hot tub after the gym is always nice I used to like to go in there after skating, back in the day.

I felt my fruit intake has been seriously lacking today, so I made myself a little frozen blueberry snack.

Frozen blueberries with unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Totally hit the spot.

Time to get some shut eye – I have important Thanksgiving baking to do tomorrow! Night!

Finally Friday

It’s been a long, tiring week. I think my little trip over to Victoria made it that much more so. I was not wanting to get out of bed at 5:30 this morning, that’s for sure. But I somehow made it out of my warm, cozy bed and into the kitchen for some breakfast.

Our peaches are quickly advancing past their prime, so I knew I needed to save one from the compost bin.

I filled a small bowl with yogurt, Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola, half of a peach, and some coconut.

I swear there was yogurt and granola under there. See?!

My mom had baked some whole wheat dried fruit scones last night. Needless to say, I had to test one out, with a blanket of Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter.

And I finished off that damn imposter juice. Finally!

Another orange hued breakfast.

Mom’s scones get my seal of approval   They were quite tasty – I think she used raisins and dried cranberries in them. The peanut butter didn’t hurt either

I was so tired today. I was doing the head bob all the way to school, fighting it all the way through class, and again on the way home. Fortunately, I didn’t miss any of my transfer points. Phew!

When I got home, I needed some grub. I finished off the Terra Blue Potato Chip crumbs someone left in the bag while I surveyed the fridge for options.

Seriously, who does that?!

My fridge searching revealed a lonely bbq’d hamburger. I decided to show it some love with a little Tex-Mex flair.

I toasted a slice of whole wheat bread, them smashed on 1/4 of an avocado, added some salsa, and the reheated hamburger.

To put it totally over the top, I added some jalapeno slices and melty sharp cheddar.

And yes, it was as spectacular as it looks. I had thought about doing some kale chips on the side, but the last of my kale was no good. Booo-urns.

I spent some quality time with the newspaper, then did some research online (with a few mah jong games thrown in for fun). I’ve decided the rest of my evening is homework free, and tomorrow will be a dedicated study day. Now I’m off to figure out what this family is having for dinner – my mom is gone for the weekend, which means dad is cooking. And by cooking, I mean ordering take out. I have to figure out what I’m craving. Later!